Automated configuration based deployment of stream processing pipeline

ABSTRACT

Techniques for generating a stream processing pipeline are provided. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a configuration file from a data service. The configuration file represents a pipeline configuration of the stream processing pipeline, and the pipeline configuration includes representations of a plurality of different types of pipeline stages configured based on a respective customization of an entity. The method further includes generating a plurality of pipeline stages in accordance with the pipeline configuration of the stream processing pipeline; collecting, at one or more pipeline stages of a first-type in the stream processing pipeline, data items from one or more data sources; processing the collected data items at one or more pipeline stages of a second-type in the stream processing pipeline; and transmitting, at one or more pipeline stages of a third-type in the stream processing pipeline, the processed data items to the data service.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to stream processing in adistributed-computing system, and more specifically to generating streamprocessing pipeline based on a customizable configuration file.

BACKGROUND

Modern distributed-computing systems are increasingly complex and caninclude thousands of host computing devices, virtual machines (VMs) andnetworking components, servicing an even larger number of customers.Components of these systems produce massive volumes of machine-generatedlog data (application logs, network traces, configuration files,messages, performance data, system state dumps, etc.). Log data providevaluable information to system administrators as they manage thesecomplex systems. Log data can be useful in troubleshooting, discoveringtrends, detecting security problems, and measuring performance.

In practice, unstructured and structured log data are collected andprocessed at a data collector (e.g., an agent collector operating at acustomer's site) from multiple data sources. The data sources may beassociated with one or more tenant systems operating at a customer'ssite. The processed log data can be forwarded to a data service. Streamprocessing pipelines are typically used at data collectors and ingestionpipelines to collect and/or process data. Traditional stream processingpipelines are often inflexible and difficult to configure based on dataproperties, different tenant systems, and/or user requirements.Moreover, traditional buffering techniques in stream processingpipelines may cause data transmission bottlenecks.

OVERVIEW

Described herein are techniques for generating a stream processingpipeline based on a customizable configuration file. In one embodiment,a method for generating a stream processing pipeline includes, at a datacollector of a tenant system collecting data for ingesting to adistributed-computing system, receiving a configuration file from a dataservice of the distributed-computing system. The configuration filerepresents a pipeline configuration of the stream processing pipeline,and the pipeline configuration includes representations of a pluralityof different types of pipeline stages configured based on a respectivecustomization of an entity. The method further includes generating aplurality of pipeline stages in accordance with the pipelineconfiguration of the stream processing pipeline; collecting, at one ormore pipeline stages of a first-type in the stream processing pipeline,data items from one or more data sources; processing the collected dataitems at one or more pipeline stages of a second-type in the streamprocessing pipeline; and transmitting, at one or more pipeline stages ofa third-type in the stream processing pipeline, the processed data itemsto the data service.

In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring one or more programs configured to be executed by one or moreprocessors is provided. The one or more programs stored by thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium include instructionsfor, at a data collector of a tenant system collecting data foringesting to a distributed-computing system, processing a receivedconfiguration file from a data service of the distributed-computingsystem. The configuration file represents a pipeline configuration ofthe stream processing pipeline, and the pipeline configuration includesrepresentations of a plurality of different types of pipeline stagesconfigured based on a respective customization of an entity. The one ormore programs stored by the non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium further include instructions for generating a plurality ofpipeline stages in accordance with the pipeline configuration of thestream processing pipeline; collecting, at one or more pipeline stagesof a first-type in the stream processing pipeline, data items from oneor more data sources; processing the collected data items at one or morepipeline stages of a second-type in the stream processing pipeline; andtransmitting, at one or more pipeline stages of a third-type in thestream processing pipeline, the processed data items to the dataservice.

In one embodiment, a system for generating a stream processing pipelineincludes one or more processors and memory storing one or more programsconfigured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or moreprograms include instructions for, at a data collector collecting datafor ingesting to a distributed-computing system, receiving aconfiguration file from a data service of the distributed-computingsystem. The configuration file represents a pipeline configuration ofthe stream processing pipeline, and the pipeline configuration includesrepresentations of a plurality of different types of pipeline stagesconfigured based on a respective customization of an entity. The one ormore programs include further instructions for generating a plurality ofpipeline stages in accordance with the pipeline configuration of thestream processing pipeline; collecting, at one or more pipeline stagesof a first-type in the stream processing pipeline, data items from oneor more data sources; processing the collected data items at one or morepipeline stages of a second-type in the stream processing pipeline; andtransmitting, at one or more pipeline stages of a third-type in thestream processing pipeline, the processed data items to the dataservice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a system and environment forimplementing various components of a distributed-computing system, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating a containerized applicationframework for implementing various components of a distributed-computingsystem, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates systems and environment for searching and retrievingdata stored in a distributed-computing system, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating systems and environment forcollecting, aggregating, and ingesting data from multiple data sourcesassociated with a tenant system to a distributed-computing system, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary customizations of an entity to generate oneor more pipeline stages of a stream processing pipeline, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary stream processingpipeline customized to have a serial interconnection of one or morepipeline stages, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary stream processingpipeline customized to have a parallel interconnection of one or morepipeline stages, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 5C-5D are block diagrams illustrating exemplary stream processingpipelines customized to have a buffer stage following a receiver stage,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 5E-5F are block diagrams illustrating exemplary stream processingpipelines customized to have a buffer stage preceding a forwarder stage,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6C are block diagrams illustrating exemplary stream processingpipelines customized to have a designated buffer stage for each dataservice, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary stream processingpipeline customized to have a designated buffer stage for each tenantsystem, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate flowcharts of exemplary processes for generatinga stream processing pipeline, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of embodiments, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings in which are shown by way of illustration specificembodiments that can be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments can be used and structural changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the various embodiments.

As described above, traditional stream processing pipelines are oftenrigid and difficult to configure based on data properties, differenttenant systems, and/or user requirements. This is partially due to thefact that these stream processing pipelines use fixed types of pipelinestages (e.g., receiver, processor) that are not or are lesscustomizable. The techniques described in this application allowsdifferent types of pipeline stages to be generated based oncustomization of a common entity. The common entity has a set ofproperties that are non-customizable (e.g., common across all types ofpipeline stages) and another set of properties that are customizable(e.g. different for different types of pipeline stages). Customizationof the entity can be performed to generate any type of pipeline stage.As a result, highly flexible customization is achieved.

Moreover, the techniques described in this application enablecustomization of the stream processing pipeline to be performed based onanalysis of data properties of a specific tenant system. For example, afirst tenant system may frequently generate a large quantity of log datain a short period of time, while a second tenant system may rarelygenerate a large quantity of log data. The stream processing pipeline ofthe first tenant system can thus be customized differently (e.g.,include more processor stages in parallel) from the stream processingpipeline of the second tenant system. As another example, streamprocessing pipeline can also be customized based on the type of dataitems generated by a specific tenant system. Accordingly, the techniquesdescribed in this application improve the performance of streamprocessing pipeline by enabling a high degree of customization.

Furthermore, the techniques described in this application also reduce oreliminate data transmission bottlenecks. In particular, a typical streamprocessing pipeline may include a single buffer stage for storing dataitems to be transmitted to multiple data services. Using a single bufferstage, however, may cause a data transmission bottleneck because thedifferent data services may be associated with communication links thathave different bandwidth capability for transmitting data items. As aresult, the rate of transmission to different data services is limitedby the slowest communication link. The techniques described in thisapplication customizes a stream processing pipeline to include adesignated buffer stage for each data service, thereby reducing oreliminating the data transmission bottleneck. The performance of thestream processing pipeline can thus be further improved.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a system and environment forimplementing various components of a distributed-computing system,according to some embodiments. As shown, virtual machines (VMs) 102 ₁,102 ₂ . . . 120 _(n) are instantiated on host computing device 100. Insome embodiments, host computing device 100 implements one or moreelements of a distributed-computing system (e.g., distributed-computingsystem 200, described below with reference to FIG. 2). Hardware platform120 includes memory 122, one or more processors 124, network interface126, and various I/O devices 128. Memory 122 includes computer-readablestorage medium. The computer-readable storage medium is, for example,tangible and non-transitory. For example, memory 122 includes high-speedrandom access memory and also includes non-volatile memory, such as oneor more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid-state memory devices. In some embodiments, thecomputer-readable storage medium of memory 122 stores instructions forperforming the methods and processes described herein. In someembodiments, hardware platform 120 also includes other components,including power supplies, internal communications links and busses,peripheral devices, controllers, and many other components.

Virtualization layer 110 is installed on top of hardware platform 120.Virtualization layer 110, also referred to as a hypervisor, is asoftware layer that provides an execution environment within whichmultiple VMs 102 are concurrently instantiated and executed. Theexecution environment of each VM 102 includes virtualized componentsanalogous to those comprising hardware platform 120 (e.g. a virtualizedprocessor(s), virtualized memory, etc.). In this manner, virtualizationlayer 110 abstracts VMs 102 from physical hardware while enabling VMs102 to share the physical resources of hardware platform 120. As aresult of this abstraction, each VM 102 operates as though it has itsown dedicated computing resources.

Each VM 102 includes operating system (OS) 106, also referred to as aguest operating system, and one or more applications (Apps) 104 runningon or within OS 106. OS 106 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between varioushardware and software components. As in a traditional computingenvironment, OS 106 provides the interface between Apps 104 (i.e.programs containing software code) and the hardware resources used toexecute or run applications. However, in this case the “hardware” isvirtualized or emulated by virtualization layer 110. Consequently, Apps104 generally operate as though they are in a traditional computingenvironment. That is, from the perspective of Apps 104, OS 106 appearsto have access to dedicated hardware analogous to components of hardwareplatform 120.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating a containerized applicationframework for implementing various components of a distributed-computingsystem, in accordance with some embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 1Billustrates VM 102 ₁ implementing a containerized application framework.Containerization provides an additional level of abstraction forapplications by packaging a runtime environment with each individualapplication. Container 132 includes App 104 ₁ (i.e., application code),as well as all the dependencies, libraries, binaries, and configurationfiles needed to run App 104 ₁. Container engine 136, similar tovirtualization layer 110 discussed above, abstracts App 104 ₁ from OS106 ₁, while enabling other applications (e.g., App 104 ₂) to shareoperating system resources (e.g., the operating system kernel). As aresult of this abstraction, each App 104 runs the same regardless of theenvironment (e.g., as though it has its own dedicated operating system).

It should be appreciated that applications (Apps) implementing aspectsof the present disclosure are, in some embodiments, implemented asapplications running within traditional computing environments (e.g.,applications run on an operating system with dedicated physicalhardware), virtualized computing environments (e.g., applications run ona guest operating system on virtualized hardware), containerizedenvironments (e.g., applications packaged with dependencies and runwithin their own runtime environment), distributed-computingenvironments (e.g., applications run on or across multiple physicalhosts) or any combination thereof. Furthermore, while specificimplementations of virtualization and containerization are discussed, itshould be recognized that other implementations of virtualization andcontainers can be used without departing from the scope of the variousdescribed embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates systems and environment for data ingestion bydistributed-computing system 200, according to some embodiments. Asshown, data sources 210 are coupled to distributed-computing system 200through one or more communication networks 218. In particular, datasources 210 communicate with management plane 220 ofdistributed-computing system 200 via communication networks 218. In someembodiments, additional hardware and software components facilitate thetransmission of data between data sources 210 and management plane 220.For example, data can pass through a proxy server, load balancer, or adata collector of a tenant system before arriving at management nodes222 within management plane 220.

In some embodiments, data sources 210 include components which generateor provide data (e.g., log data) that is ingested intodistributed-computing system 200. For example, data sources 210 includeone or more information processing systems having servers 212, 214, and216. Servers 212, 214, and 216 are located, for example, at one or morecustomer sites and generate data during operation. In some embodiments,one or more servers 212, 214, and 216 are referred to as tenant systems.In some implementations, a software agent (e.g., a data collector)running on one or more servers (e.g., servers 212, 214, and 216)collects data and facilitates its transmission via communicationsnetwork 218 to management plane 220, where it is routed to a particularstorage location within data plane 230. As part of this process, theagent sends an ingestion request to management plane 220 along with datait has collected from an associated data source 210 and receives aconfirmation from management plane 220 upon successful ingestion.

Examples of communication network(s) 218 include local area networks(LAN) and wide area networks (WAN), e.g., the Internet. Communicationnetwork(s) 218 is implemented using any known network protocol,including various wired or wireless protocols, such as, for example,Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA),Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, or anyother suitable communication protocol. Further, it is appreciated that,in some embodiments, physical communication networks, such as describedabove, are also implemented as a software defined network (SDN) orthrough software emulation.

Distributed-computing system 200 includes management plane 220 and dataplane 230. The terms “management plane” and “data plane” refer tofunctional descriptions of elements of distributed-computing system 200that perform specialized functions. Management plane 220 implements allbusiness and management logic which allow an administrator to configuredistributed-computing system 200, including data plane functionality.For example, management plane 220 is configured to perform managementfunctions, such as process user queries, persist user configurations,and execute operational tasks on management nodes 222 and data planecontainers 232. Management plane 220 is also configured to, for example,perform tasks related to input validation, user management, policymanagement, and background task tracking. In some embodiments,management plane 220 implements packet switching, filtering, tagging,routing logic, and the like. In some embodiments, management plane 220provides a single API entry point to distributed-computing system 200.

Management plane 220 includes one or more management nodes 222. Eachmanagement node 222 is an instantiation of management software (e.g., anapplication) which implements management functionality. Management node222 runs on a dedicated physical host, as an application within avirtual machine, within a software container on a dedicated host, withina software container on a virtual machine, or any combination thereof.Each management node 222 is communicatively coupled to one another andto data plane 230 via a communication interface(s) such as thosedescribed with respect to communications network 218. In someembodiments, each of the plurality of management nodes 222 independentlyimplement management functionality for data plane 230. This redundancyimproves reliability. For example, in situations where a management node(e.g., 222 ₁) experiences a failure, another management node (e.g., 222₂) can takeover to maintain management functionality.

Data plane 230 is coupled to management plane 220. Data plane 230 isconfigured to perform data processing functionality. For example, dataplane 230 is configured to index data during data ingestion and storethe indexed data. In some embodiments, data plane 230 is configured toingest data received from management plane 220 and query stored data.Data plane 230 includes a collection of data plane containers 232. Eachdata plane container is an instance of a software applicationimplementing data processing functionality within a container (e.g.,container 132). In some embodiments, data plane containers 232 run on adedicated host or within a virtualized environment such as VM 102 ₁ onhost computing device 100. Each data plane container 232 is associatedwith one or more data cores (e.g., cores 234, 236, and 238). A data coreis an allocation of storage resources for files associated with a singletenant or customer. In some embodiments, a core spans one or morestorage medias such as hard disks, solid state drives, virtual storagearea network devices (VSANs), or the like. In some embodiments, eachdata core includes a database index with configuration, such as schema,caching, and the like. For example, each data core includes a set ofmemory structures that manages database files.

Data plane 230 is further coupled to secondary storage system 240 viacommunication interface(s), such as those described with respect tocommunications network 218. Data plane containers 232 communicate withsecondary storage system 240 and are configured to transfer data to andretrieve data from secondary storage system 240. Secondary storagesystem 240 is configured to provide additional data storage functionssuch as backing up data located on data plane containers 232 or servingas long-term storage for infrequently accessed data. In someembodiments, secondary storage system 240 includes one or more storagemedia such as hard disks, solid state drives, virtual storage areanetwork devices (VSANs), or the like.

Although in the present embodiment, distributed-computing system 200includes management plane 220 and data plane 230, it should berecognized that, in other embodiments, distributed-computing system 200can include additional functional layers. For example,distributed-computing system 200 can include additional software layers(e.g., applications) that facilitate functions related to providingalerts or notifications. In some embodiments, distributed-computingsystem 200 includes additional intermediate software layers for handlingingestion request or user queries.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram 300 illustrating systems and environment forcollecting, aggregating, and ingesting data from multiple data sourcesassociated with a tenant system 320 to a distributed-computing system200, in accordance with some embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 3,tenant system 320 can include or access one or more associated datasources 350A-N (collectively as 350). A tenant system can be a hardware,a software, or a combination thereof operating by or serving a tenant orcustomer. For example, a tenant system can include one or more servers212, 214, 216 associated with a same tenant. In some embodiments, atenant system can be provided with ability to customize at least oneaspect of one or more software applications running on the tenantsystem. For example, a tenant system can be enabled to customize a userinterface (e.g., color, appearance, functionality, etc.) of a userterminal 210 for communicating with distributed-computing system 200. Insome embodiments, one or more data sources 350A-N can includeapplications that generate data (e.g., log data), databases that storethe generated data, and/or hardware storages. Data sources 350 can beincluded in tenant system 320 (e.g., an application running on tenantsystem 320) or be an internal/external application/storage that isaccessible to tenant system 320.

With reference to FIG. 3, tenant system 320 can be communicativelycoupled to a data collector 350. A data collector 350 is a hardware, asoftware agent, or a combination thereof. Data collector 350 collectsdata from the data sources 350, processes the collected data, andtransmits the processed data to one or more data services 330 ofdistributed-computing system 200. While FIG. 3 illustrates that datacollector 350 collects data from a single tenant system 320, it shouldbe recognized that data collector 350 can collect data from multipletenant systems associated with a tenant or a customer. Each tenant orcustomer may also have more than one data collector 350 for collectingdata.

In some embodiments, for collecting, processing, and transmitting data,data collector 350 can receive a configuration file (e.g., via network218) from data service 330 of distributed-computing system 200. Dataservice 330 can be, for example, a cloud computing service that providesdata storage, data retrieving, data searching, data analyzing,software-as-a-service (SaaS), or the like. In some embodiments, dataservice 330 can include one or more components of distributed-computingsystem 200. For example, data service 330 can include a management node222 in a management plane 220 and a data plane container in a data plane230. Data service 330 can thus includes a database platform configuredto ingest data received from management plane 220 to a data core (e.g.,data core 234) allocated for a particular tenant or customer.

Data generated at different tenants or customers may have differentproperties and/or quantities according to different businessrequirements of the tenants or customers. For example, applicationsoperating on a tenant system of a first tenant may generate a largenumber of log data in a short period of time, while applicationsoperating on a tenant system of a second tenant may generate less numberof log data in the same period of time. As another example, log datagenerated by a tenant system of the first tenant may be of the same orsimilar type while log data generated by a tenant system of the secondtenant may have many different types.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, data service 330 (e.g., via managementplane 220) can analyze the data collected from a particular tenantsystem (e.g., tenant system 320) to determine the properties associatedwith the collected data (e.g., quantities, types, etc.). Based on theanalysis results, a stream processing pipeline configuration file can begenerated and transmitted to the tenant system. For example, as shown inFIG. 3, a configuration file for configuring one or more streamprocessing pipelines in data collector 350 can be generated andtransmitted from data service 330 to data collector 350. A streamprocessing pipeline, as described in more detail below, can be used tocollect data from data sources, process the collected data, store theprocessed or collected data, and/or transmit the processed data to adata service. In some embodiments, data collector 350 receives theconfiguration file, reads (e.g., via a bootstrap service) theconfiguration file, and implements a stream processing pipelineaccording to the configuration file. A configuration file can be, forexample, a YAML-based configuration file. It should be recognized thatthe configuration file can also be based on any other mark-up languagesthat data collector 350 supports.

In some embodiments, a configuration file can include representations ofa pipeline configuration of a stream processing pipeline. A pipelineconfiguration includes, for example, representations of a plurality ofdifferent types of pipeline stages configured based on respectivecustomizations of a common entity. The entity can be a customizableobject or abstraction of various types of pipeline stages. The entitycan be associated with a first set of properties that arenon-customizable (e.g., common) across different types of pipelinestages. A set of properties includes, for example, functionalities,mechanisms, parameters, protocols, ports, or the like, that areassociated with a pipeline stage. For example, the first set ofproperties can include a description or definition that a pipelinestage, regardless of the type, must have one or more datareceiving/transmitting mechanisms or terminals (e.g., an input terminaland an output terminal), for the purpose of interconnecting to precedingor following pipeline stages. The first set of properties can alsoinclude, for example, data types and/or data structures that a pipelinestage can process.

The customizable entity can also be associated with a second set ofproperties that are customizable to generate different types of pipelinestages. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of customizing such an entity 410to generate one or more pipeline stages of a stream processing pipeline.In FIG. 4, four types of pipeline stages are illustrated. As shown inFIG. 4, a first-type pipeline stage can be receiver-type stage 420A,which is generated based on a first type-specific customization ofentity 410. The first type-specific customization includes defining,describing, adjusting, and/or configuring at least a portion of thesecond set of properties of entity 410 (e.g., functionalities) togenerate receiver-type stage 420A. Receiver-type stage 420A cancommunicate and receive/collect data items (e.g., data packets) from oneor more data sources (e.g., data sources 350).

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a second-type pipeline stage can beprocessor-type stage 420B, which is generated based on a secondtype-specific customization of entity 410. The second type-specificcustomization includes defining, describing, adjusting, and/orconfiguring at least a portion of the second set of properties of entity410 (e.g., functionalities) to generate processor-type stage 420B.Processor-type stage 420B can process (e.g., extracting payloads,annotating payloads, categorizing payloads, or the like) data itemsprovided by a receiver-type stage.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a third-type pipeline stage can beforwarder-type stage 420C, which is generated based on a thirdtype-specific customization of entity 410. The third type-specificcustomization includes defining, describing, adjusting, and/orconfiguring at least a portion of the second set of properties of entity410 (e.g., functionalities) to generate forwarder-type stage 420C.Forwarder-type stage 420C can communicate and transmit processed dataitems to one or more data services (e.g., data service 330).

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a fourth-type pipeline stage can bebuffer-type stage 420D, which is generated based on a fourthtype-specific customization of entity 410. The fourth type-specificcustomization includes defining, describing, adjusting, and/orconfiguring at least a portion of the second set of properties of entity410 (e.g., functionalities) to generate buffer-type stage 420D.Buffer-type stage 420D can store data items (processed or unprocessed)received from a preceding pipeline stage and provide the stored dataitems to the following pipeline stage.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in some embodiments, the four different typesof pipeline stages (420A-D) can be generated based on differenttype-specific customizations of the same entity 410. For example, thesecond type-specific customization (e.g., for generating processor-typestage 420B) can be different from the first and third type-specificcustomizations. In some embodiments, the four type-specificcustomizations are all different from each other. Type-specificcustomizations based on a common entity provides a high level offlexibility, as the same entity can be readily configured or customizedto different types of pipeline stages using the second set of properties(e.g., the customizable properties). This is a result of the entitybeing a higher level of abstraction of the different pipeline stages.Thus, the entity can serve as a universal customizable template forgenerating different types of pipeline stages.

With reference to FIG. 4, in some embodiments, the four different typesof pipeline stages (420A-D) can be further customized to generateparticular instances of pipeline stages. In some embodiments,instance-specific customizations can be performed in furtherance to thetype-specific customizations. As illustrated in FIG. 4, receiver-typestage 420A can be further customized to generate one or more particularinstances of receiver stages including, for example, receiver stages440A and 440B. Receiver stages 440A and 440B can have one or more commonproperties because they are both generated based on customization of thesame receiver-type stage 420A. Receiver stages 440A and 440B can alsohave one or more different properties that are specific to eachindividual instance of receiver stages. For example, receiver stage 440Acan be generated based on a first receiver-specific customization ofreceiver-type stage 420A; and receiver stage 440B can be generated basedon a second receiver-specific customization of receiver-type stage 420A.The first receiver-specific customization includes defining, describing,adjusting, and/or configuring at least a portion of the second set ofproperties of entity 410 (e.g., parameters, protocols) for generatingreceiver stage 440A. Similarly, second receiver-specific customizationincludes defining, describing, adjusting, and/or configuring at least aportion of the second set of properties of entity 410 (e.g., parameters,protocols) for generating receiver stage 440B. The secondreceiver-specific customization may be different from the firstreceiver-specific customization. For example, as a result of thedifferent customization, receiver stage 440A communicates and receivesdata items using a CDP protocol while receiver stage 440B communicatesand receives data items using TCP protocol. The receiver-specificcustomization thus represents a finer and more specific customization ofentity 410 (e.g., by further customizing the receiver-type stage 420A)to satisfy different streaming processing requirements.

Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 4, processor-type stage 420B can befurther customized to generate one or more particular instances ofprocessor stages including, for example, processor stages 450A and 450B.Processor stages 450A and 450B can have one or more common propertiesbecause they may be both customized based on the same processor-typestage 420B. Processor stages 450A and 450B can also have one or moredifferent properties that are specific to each individual instance ofprocessor stages. For example, processor stage 450A can be generatedbased on a first processor-specific customization of processor-typestage 420B; and processor stage 450B can be generated based on a secondprocessor-specific customization of processor-type stage 420B. The firstprocessor-specific customization includes defining, describing,adjusting, and/or configuring at least a portion of the second set ofproperties of entity 410 (e.g., parameters, mechanisms, ports) forgenerating processor stage 450A. Similarly, second processor-specificcustomization includes defining, describing, adjusting, and/orconfiguring at least a portion of the second set of properties of entity410 (e.g., parameters, mechanisms, ports) for generating processor stage450B. The second processor-specific customization may be different fromthe first processor-specific customization. For example, based ondifferent customizations, processor stage 450A may perform annotation ofdata items, while processor stage 450B may perform categorization ofdata items. The processor-specific customization thus represents a finerand more specific customization of entity 410 (e.g., by furthercustomizing the processor-type stage 420B) to satisfy differentstreaming processing requirements.

Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 4, forwarder-type stage 420C can befurther customized to generate one or more particular instances offorwarder stages including, for example, forwarder stages 460A and 460B.Forwarder stages 460A and 460B can have one or more common propertiesbecause they may be both customized based on the same forwarder-typestage 420C. Forwarder stages 460A and 460B can also have one or moredifferent properties that are specific to each individual instance ofthe forwarder stages. For example, forwarder stage 460A can be generatedbased on a first forwarder-specific customization of forwarder-typestage 420C; and forwarder 460B can be generated based on a secondforwarder-specific customization of forwarder-type stage 420C. The firstforwarder-specific customization includes defining, describing,adjusting, and/or configuring at least a portion of the second set ofproperties of entity 410 (e.g., parameters, protocols) to generateforwarder stage 460A. Similarly, second forwarder-specific customizationincludes defining, describing, adjusting, and/or configuring at least aportion of the second set of properties of entity 410 (e.g., parameters,mechanisms, ports) to generate forwarder stage 460B. The secondforwarder-specific customization may be different from the firstforwarder-specific customization. For example, based on differentcustomizations, forwarder stage 460A communicates and transmits dataitems using a CDP protocol, while forwarder stage 460B communicates andreceives data items using TCP protocol. The forwarder-specificcustomization thus represents a finer and more specific customization ofentity 410 (e.g., by further customizing forwarder-type stage 420C) tosatisfy different streaming processing requirements.

Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 4, buffer-type stage 420D can befurther customized to generate one or more particular instances ofbuffer stages including, for example, buffer stages 470A and 470B.Buffer stages 470A and 470B can have one or more common propertiesbecause they may be both customized based on the same buffer-type stage420D. Buffer stages 470A and 470B can also have one or more differentproperties that are specific to each individual instance of bufferstages. For example, buffer stage 470A can be generated based on a firstbuffer-specific customization of buffer-type stage 420D; and buffer 470Bcan be generated based on a second buffer-specific customization ofbuffer-type stage 420D. The first buffer-specific customization includesdefining, describing, adjusting, and/or configuring at least a portionof the second set of properties of entity 410 (e.g., parameters such ascapacity or type of buffers) to generate buffer stage 470A. Similarly,second buffer-specific customization includes defining, describing,adjusting, and/or configuring at least a portion of the second set ofproperties of entity 410 (e.g., parameters such as capacity or type ofbuffers) to generate buffer stage 470B. The second buffer-specificcustomization may be different from the first buffer-specificcustomization. For example, based on the different customization, bufferstage 470A may be a disk buffer with a large capacity; while bufferstage 470B may be a memory buffer with a smaller capacity. Thebuffer-specific customization thus represents a finer and more specificcustomization of entity 410 (e.g., by further customizing buffer-typestage 420D) to satisfy different streaming processing requirements.

As described above, a configuration file can include representations ofa pipeline configuration of a stream processing pipeline. The pipelineconfiguration can thus include representations of the pipeline stages(e.g., each customized individual instance of the pipeline stages) ofthe stream processing pipeline to-be-implemented at a data collector. Insome embodiments, the pipeline configuration can further include arepresentation of a structure for interconnecting pipeline stages. FIGS.5A-5D illustrate various examples of structures for interconnecting aplurality of pipeline stages.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary stream processingpipeline 500 customized to have a serial interconnection of one or morepipeline stages, in accordance with some embodiments. As illustrated inFIG. 5A, stream processing pipeline 500 can include a pipeline stage ofa first-type (e.g., receiver stage 510), one or more pipeline stages ofa second-type (e.g., processor stages 512A-C), and a pipeline stage of athird-type (e.g., forwarder stage 514). In some embodiments, two or morepipeline stages of the second-type in a stream processing pipeline canhave a serial interconnection. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A,processor stage 512A-C are interconnected serially such that theprocessed data items from one processor stage is provided to thefollowing processor stage for further processing. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 5A, receiver stage 510 receives or collects data items(e.g., log data) from one or more data sources and provides thereceived/collected data items to the serially-interconnected processorstages 512A-C. The processors stages 512A-C process the data items(e.g., annotating data items, categorizing data items, etc.) and providethe processed data items to forwarder stage 514, which transmits theprocessed data items to one or more data services.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary stream processingpipeline 520 customized to have a parallel interconnection of one ormore pipeline stages, in accordance with some embodiments. Asillustrated in FIG. 5B and similar to stream processing pipeline 500,stream processing pipeline 520 can include a pipeline stage of afirst-type (e.g., receiver stage 522), one or more pipeline stages of asecond-type (e.g., processor stages 524A-C), and one or more pipelinestages of a third-type (e.g., forwarder stages 526A-B). In someembodiments, two or more pipeline stages of the second-type in a streamprocessing pipeline can have a parallel interconnection. For example, asshown in FIG. 5B, processor stage 524B and 524C are interconnected inparallel such that they both receive data items from a common precedingpipeline stage (e.g., the processed data item from processor stage524A). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, receiver stage 522 receivesor collects data items (e.g., log data) from one or more data sourcesand provides the received/collected data items to processor stage 524A,which processes the data items (e.g., extract the payloads) and providesthe processed data items to both processor stage 524B and 524C. In someembodiments, processor stage 524B and 524C can process the received dataitems differently based on their respective customizations. For example,processor stage 524B may annotate data items for transmitting to a firstdata service; and processor stage 524C may annotate data items fortransmitting to a second data service. After processing the data items,processor stages 524B and 524C can provide the processed data items to,for example, a respective forwarder stage (e.g., forwarder stages 526Aand 526B), which transmits the processed data items to a respective dataservice.

FIGS. 5C-5D are block diagrams illustrating exemplary stream processingpipelines 540A-B customized to have a buffer stage following a receiverstage, in accordance with some embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 5C,in some embodiments, stream processing pipeline 540A can include apipeline stage of a first-type (e.g., receiver stage 542), a pipelinestage of a second-type (e.g., processor stage 546A), and a pipelinestage of a fourth-type (e.g., buffer stage 544). In some embodiments,the pipeline stage of the fourth-type can be positioned between thepipeline stage of the first-type and the pipeline stage of thesecond-type. For example, as shown in FIG. 5C, a first terminal ofbuffer stage 544 is configured to be interconnected with receiver stage542 and a second terminal of buffer stage 544 is configured to beinterconnected with processor stage 546A. Buffer stage 544 is capable ofbuffering the collected data items before the processing of thecollected data items. For example, in any given period of time, the ratethat receiver stage 542 receives data items from one or more datasources may be greater than the rate processor stage 546A is capable ofprocessing the received data items (e.g., during data spikes). In someembodiments, buffer stage 544 can store the received data items andprovide the stored data items to processor stage 546A when the dataitems can be processed. Using a buffer stage can thus reduce oreliminate the likelihood that data items are lost or dropped due to dataspikes. Including a buffer stage can thus improve the performance of thestream processing pipeline.

It should be recognized that processor stage 546A can be followed by anynumber of pipeline stages in any configurations. FIG. 5D illustratessuch a stream processing pipeline 540B, where processor stage 546A arefollowed by two processor stages 546B-C interconnected in parallel withtheir respective forwarder stages 548A-B. The structure of streamprocessing pipeline 540B is thus similar to that of stream processingpipeline 520 shown in FIG. 5B, except stream processing pipeline 540Bincludes a buffer stage 514 positioned between receiver stage 542 andthe first processor stage 546A.

FIGS. 5E-5F are block diagrams illustrating exemplary stream processingpipelines 550A-B customized to have a buffer stage preceding a forwarderstage, in accordance with some embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 5E,in some embodiments, stream processing pipeline 550A can include apipeline stage of a second-type (e.g., processor stage 554N), a pipelinestage of a third-type (e.g., forwarder stage 558), and a pipeline stageof a fourth-type (e.g., buffer stage 556). In some embodiments, thepipeline stage of the fourth-type can be positioned between a pipelinestage of the second-type and a pipeline stage of the third-type. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5E, a first terminal of buffer stage 556 isconfigured to be interconnected with processor stage 554N and a secondterminal of buffer stage 556 is configured to be interconnected withforwarder stage 558. Buffer stage 556 is capable of buffering theprocessed data items before the transmitting of the processed data itemsto one or more data services by forwarder stage 558. For example, in anygiven period of time, the rate that forwarder stage 558 is able totransmit processed data items to one or more data services may be lessthan the rate processor stage 554N processes the data items. This mayoccur, for example, due to bandwidth limitations. Accordingly, bufferstage 556 can store the data items processed by processor stage 554N andprovide the stored data items to forwarder stage 558 when the data itemscan be transmitted. Using a buffer stage can thus reduce or eliminatethe likelihood that data items are lost or dropped due to bandwidthlimitations. Including a buffer stage can thus improve the performanceof the stream processing pipeline.

It should be recognized that processor stage 554N can be preceded by anynumber of pipeline stages in any configurations. FIG. 5F illustratessuch a stream processing pipeline 550B, where processor stage 554N arepreceded by two processor stages 554A-B interconnected serially.Processor stages 554A-B can also be configured to received data itemsfrom receiver stage 552. The structure of stream processing pipeline550B is thus similar to that of stream processing pipeline 500 shown inFIG. 5A, except stream processing pipeline 550B includes a buffer stage556 positioned between the last processor stage 554N and the forwarderstage 558.

As described above in FIGS. 5E-5F, exemplary stream processing pipelines550A-B include a buffer stage 556 followed by a forwarder 558. Forwarder558 can transmit processed data items stored in buffer stage 556 to oneor more data services. In some embodiments, the communication linksbetween a plurality of data services and forwarder 558 may havedifferent bandwidths. For example, a first communication link betweenforwarder 558 and a first data service may have a first bandwidth suchthat data items can be transmitted to the first data service at a firstrate; while a second communication link between forwarder 558 and asecond data service may have a second bandwidth such that data items canbe transmitted to the second data service at a second rate. The firstbandwidth may be higher than the second bandwidth, and therefore thefirst rate of data transmission may be higher than the second rate ofdata transmission. As a result, the second communication link is slowerthan the first communication link. The slow communication link maybecome the transmission bottleneck because data items to-be-transmittedare all stored in a single buffer stage 556. For example, buffer stage556 shown in FIGS. 5E-5F may store processed data items A, B, and C.Forwarder stage 558 may begin transmission of the data items byforwarding data item A to the first and second data services. Becausethe second data service has a lower bandwidth than the first dataservice, it receives data items in a slower rate than the first dataservice. Thus, after forwarder stage 558 transmits data item A to thefirst data service, it cannot transmit data item B to the first dataservice until after it can transmit data item A to the second dataservice. This may limit the transmission rate for the first data servicedespite that the first data service has the capability to communicate ata higher data rate. The stream processing pipelines 550A-B can befurther improved to reduce or eliminate the bottleneck issue by using adesignated buffer stage for each data service.

FIGS. 6A-6C are block diagrams illustrating exemplary stream processingpipelines 600, 620, and 640 customized to have a designated buffer stagefor each data service, in accordance with some embodiments. Asillustrated in FIG. 6A, in some embodiments, stream processing pipeline600 can include one or more pipeline stages of a second-type (e.g., oneor more processor stages 604), one or more pipeline stages of afourth-type (e.g., buffer stages 606A-B), and one or more pipelinestages of a third-type (e.g., forwarder stage 608A-B). In someembodiments, each of the pipeline stages of the fourth-type can bepositioned in front of a respective pipeline stage of the third-type.For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, a first terminal of buffer stage 606Ais configured to be interconnected with one or more processor stages604; and a second terminal of buffer stage 606A is configured to beinterconnected with forwarder stage 608A. Similarly, a first terminal ofbuffer stage 608A is configured to be interconnected with one or moreprocessor stages 604; and a second terminal of buffer stage 606B isconfigured to be interconnected with forwarder stage 608B. Thus, eachbuffer stage 606A-B is interconnected with its respective forwarderstage 608A-B. As a result, data items stored in buffer stage 606A can betransmitted by forwarder stage 608A to data service 330A; and data itemsstored in buffer stage 606B can be transmitted by forwarder stage 608Bto data service 330B. The data transmissions to data services 330A and330B can therefore be independent from each other. For instance, thetransmission rate for transmitting data items to data service 330A canbe different from (e.g., greater than) the transmission rate fortransmitting data items to data service 330B. As a result, theperformance of stream processing pipeline 600 can be improved byde-coupling the transmission to different data services by using adesignated buffer stage for each data service. In some embodiments, thetransmission rate for transmitting data items to a particular dataservice corresponds to a maximum rate that the data service is capableof accepting data.

In some embodiments, buffer stage 606A can be customized to havedifferent properties (e.g., storage capacity and/or type) from bufferstage 606B. For example, based on the analysis of the history of datatransmission between a particular tenant system and data services330A-B, it may be determined that data service 330A is capable ofreceiving data items at a higher rate than data service 330B. As aresult, buffer stage 606A can be configured to have a smaller capacitythan buffer stage 606B.

With reference to FIG. 6A, in some embodiments, the processed data itemsstored in buffer stage 606A include a duplicate of at least oneprocessed data item that is stored in buffer stage 606B. For example,certain data items (e.g., log data) may be common and are transmitted toboth data services 330A and 330B. Accordingly, duplicates of these dataitems can be stored in both buffer stages 606A and 606B. Buffer stage606A can also store data items that are specific to data service 330A;and buffer stage 606B can also store data items that are specific todata service 330B.

FIG. 6B illustrates a specific configuration of a stream processingpipeline 620 customized based on the configuration shown in FIG. 6A. Asshown in FIG. 6B, stream processing pipeline 620 includes similar bufferstages 606A-B and forwarder stages 608A-B interconnected in a similarmanner as those shown in FIG. 6A. As also illustrated in FIG. 6B, instream processing pipeline 620, processors stages 604A and 604B can beconfigured to interconnect in a serial manner, followed by a parallelinterconnection of buffer stages 606A-B. Accordingly, a first terminalof buffer stage 606A and a first terminal of buffer stage 606B are bothconfigured to be interconnected with processor stage 604B, which ispreceded by processor stage 604A. Processor stage 604A can beinterconnected to other pipeline stages (e.g., another processor stageor a receiver stage). As a result of this configuration, the sameprocessed data items are stored in both buffer stages 606A and 606B, andare transmitted to data services 330A and 330B, respectively.

FIG. 6C illustrates another specific configuration of a streamprocessing pipeline 640 customized based on the configuration shown inFIG. 6A. As shown in FIG. 6C, stream processing pipeline 640 includessimilar buffer stages 606A-B and forwarder stages 608A-B interconnectedin a similar manner as those shown in FIG. 6A. As also illustrated inFIG. 6C, in stream processing pipeline 640, processors stages 604A and604B can be configured to interconnect in a parallel manner, followed bya parallel interconnection of buffer stages 606A-B, respectively.Accordingly, a first terminal of buffer stage 606A is configured to beinterconnected with processor stage 604A; and a first terminal of bufferstage 606B is configured to be interconnected with processor stage 604B.Processor stages 604A-B can be interconnected to other pipeline stages(e.g., one or more other processor stages or one or more receiverstages). As a result of this configuration, buffer stages 606A and 606Bstore different data items provided by processor stages 604A and 604B,respectively. The data items stored in buffer stages 606A and 606B aretransmitted to data services 330A and 330B, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary stream processingpipeline 700 customized to have a designated buffer stage for eachtenant system, in accordance with some embodiments. As described above,one or more receivers of a stream processing pipeline can collect dataitems (e.g., log data) from one or more tenant systems associated with atenant or customer. Different tenant systems may have different datatransmission rate. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, tenant system 720Amay generate and/or transmit more data items in a given period of timethan tenant system 720B, and thus may have a higher data transmissionrate than tenant system 720B. As a result, one or more receiver stages742 may collect data items from tenant system 720A at a higher datacollecting rate than from tenant system 720B. If all the collected dataitems are stored in a single buffer, the single buffer may beoverwhelmed with data items collected from tenant system 720A and thusdata items collected from tenant system 720B may be lost or dropped. Forexample, the single buffer may have a limited capacity such that duringa given period of time, it can only store data items collected fromtenant system 720A and there is no capacity to store data itemscollected from tenant system 720B. Thus, if tenant system 720B transmitsone or more data items to receiver 742 during that period of time, thedata items may be lost or dropped.

With reference to FIG. 7, in some embodiments, different buffer stages744A-N can be configured to store data items collected from respectivetenant systems 720A-N. For example, buffer stage 744A stores data itemscollected from tenant system 720A; buffer stage 744B stores data itemscollected from tenant system 720B; and so forth. As a result of usingindependent buffer stages for different tenant systems, the impact ofdifferent data items generation and/or transmission rate can be reducedor eliminated. The using of independent buffer stages corresponding todifferent tenant system thus improves the system performance by reducingor eliminating the undesired loss of data items.

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate flowcharts of exemplary processes 800 a-c forgenerating a stream processing pipeline, in accordance with someembodiments. Processes 800 a-c are performed, for example, using a datacollector of a tenant system collecting data for ingesting to adistributed-computing system (e.g., distributed-computing system 200described in reference to FIG. 2). In some embodiments, thedistributed-computing system comprises a plurality of host computingdevices (e.g., host computing device 100 described in reference to FIG.1A) that are communicatively coupled together in a network. In someembodiments, the distributed-computing system is implemented by one ormore virtual machines (e.g., VM 102 described in reference to FIGS.1A-1B).The distributed-computing system implements, for example, amanagement plane (e.g., management plane 220) and a data plane (e.g.,data plane 230). In some embodiments, the operations of processes 800a-c are distributed across the various components (e.g., managementplane, data plane, etc.) of the distributed-computing system. Inprocesses 800 a-c, some blocks are, optionally, combined, the order ofsome blocks is, optionally, changed, and some blocks are, optionally,omitted. In some embodiments, additional operations may be performed incombination with processes 800 a-c.

At block 802, a configuration file received from a data service of thedistributed-computing system is processed. The configuration filerepresents a pipeline configuration of the stream processing pipeline,and the pipeline configuration includes representations of a pluralityof different types of pipeline stages configured based on a respectivecustomization of an entity.

At block 804, a plurality of pipeline stages is generated in accordancewith the pipeline configuration of the stream processing pipeline.

At block 806, data items from one or more data sources are collected atone or more pipeline stages of a first-type in the stream processingpipeline.

At block 808, the collected data items are processed at one or morepipeline stages of a second-type in the stream processing pipeline.

At block 810, the processed data items are processed to be transmittedto the data service at one or more pipeline stages of a third-type inthe stream processing pipeline.

FIG. 8B illustrates a flowchart of exemplary process 800 b fortransmitting of data items to a plurality of data services. Process 800b can be performed at a data collector associated with a tenant systemcollecting data for ingesting to a distributed-computing system.

At block 822, a plurality of pipeline stages of a stream processingpipeline is generated in accordance with a configuration file. Theplurality of pipeline stages includes a first buffer stage designatedfor a first data service and a second buffer stage designated for asecond data service. The first data service and the second data serviceare different data services.

At block 824, data items from one or more data sources are collected atone or more pipeline stages of a first-type in the stream processingpipeline.

At block 826, the collected data items are processed at one or morepipeline stages of a second-type in the stream processing pipeline.

At block 828, at least a portion of the processed data items is storedin the first buffer stage and at least a portion of the processed dataitems is stored in the second buffer stage.

At block 830, the data items stored in the first buffer stage areprocessed to be transmitted, at one or more pipeline stages of athird-type in the stream processing pipeline, to the first data serviceat a first transmission rate.

At block 832, the data items stored in the second buffer stage areprocessed to be transmitted, at one or more pipeline stages of athird-type in the stream processing pipeline, to the second data serviceat a second transmission rate. The second transmission rate is differentfrom the first transmission rate.

FIG. 8C illustrates a flowchart of exemplary process 800 c forcollecting data items from a plurality of tenant systems. Process 800 ccan be performed at a data collector associated with a plurality oftenant systems collecting data for ingesting to a distributed-computingsystem.

At block 842, a plurality of pipeline stages of a stream processingpipelines is generated in accordance with a configuration file. Theplurality of pipeline stages includes a first buffer stage and a secondbuffer stage.

At block 844, data items from a first tenant system and a second tenantsystem are collected at one or more pipeline stages of a first-type inthe stream processing pipeline.

At block 846, data items collected from the first tenant system arestored in the first buffer stage.

At block 848, data items collected from the second tenant system arestored in the second buffer stage.

At block 850, the stored data items are processed at one or morepipeline stages of a second-type in the stream processing pipeline.

At block 852, the processed data items are transmitted to a data serviceat one or more pipeline stages of a third-type in the stream processingpipeline.

In accordance with some implementations, a computer-readable storagemedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium) isprovided, the computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreprograms for execution by one or more processors of an electronicdevice, the one or more programs including instructions for performingany of the methods or processes described herein.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments have been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the scope of the claims to the precise formsdisclosed, and it should be understood that many modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teaching.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for generating a stream processingpipeline, the method comprising: at a data collector of a tenant systemcollecting data for ingesting to a distributed-computing system:receiving a configuration file from a data service of thedistributed-computing system, wherein the configuration file representsa pipeline configuration of the stream processing pipeline, and whereinthe pipeline configuration includes representations of a plurality ofdifferent types of pipeline stages configured based on a respectivecustomization of an entity; generating a plurality of pipeline stages inaccordance with the pipeline configuration of the stream processingpipeline; collecting, at one or more pipeline stages of a first-type inthe stream processing pipeline, data items from one or more datasources; processing the collected data items at one or more pipelinestages of a second-type in the stream processing pipeline; andtransmitting, at one or more pipeline stages of a third-type in thestream processing pipeline, the processed data items to the dataservice.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity is associated witha first set of properties and a second set of properties, wherein thefirst set of properties are non-customizable to generate the differenttypes of pipeline stages and the second set of properties arecustomizable to generate the different types of pipeline stages.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the representations of the plurality ofdifferent types of pipeline stages comprise: one or more representationsof the one or more pipeline stages of the first-type customized based ona first type-specific customization of the entity; one or morerepresentations of one or more pipeline stages of the second-typecustomized based on a second type-specific customization of the entity;and one or more representations of one or more pipeline stages of thethird-type customized based on a third type-specific customization ofthe entity, wherein the second type-specific customization is differentfrom the first and the third type-specific customizations.
 4. The methodof claim 3, wherein the one or more representations of the one or morepipeline stages of the first-type comprise: a representation of a firstreceiver stage customized based on a first receiver-specificcustomization of the entity; and a representation of a second receiverstage customized based on a second receiver-specific customization ofthe entity, the second receiver-specific customization being differentfrom the first receiver-specific customization.
 5. The method of claim3, wherein the one or more representations of the one or more pipelinestages of the second-type comprise: a representation of a firstprocessor stage customized based on a first processor-specificcustomization of the processor stage; and a representation of a secondprocessor stage customized based on a second processor-specificcustomization of the processor stage, the second processor-specificcustomization being different from the first processor-specificcustomization.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or morerepresentations of the one or more pipeline stages of the third-typecomprise: a representation of a first forwarder stage customized basedon a first forwarder-specific customization of the entity; and arepresentation of a second forwarder stage customized based on a secondforwarder-specific customization of the entity, the secondforwarder-specific customization being different from the firstforwarder-specific customization.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein therepresentations of the plurality of different types of pipeline stagesfurther comprises: one or more representations of one or more pipelinestages of a fourth-type customized based on a fourth type-specificcustomization of the entity, wherein the one or more pipeline stages ofthe fourth-type are customized to buffer data items.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the one or more representations of the one or morepipeline stages of the fourth-type comprise: a representation of a firstbuffer stage customized based on a first buffer-specific customizationof the entity; and a representation of a second buffer stage customizedbased on a second buffer-specific customization of the entity, thesecond buffer-specific customization being different from the firstbuffer-specific customization.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thepipeline configuration further comprises a representation of a structurefor interconnecting the plurality of pipeline stages.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the structure for interconnecting the plurality ofpipeline stages comprises a serial interconnection of a first pipelinestage of the second-type and a second pipeline stage of the second-typein the stream processing pipeline.
 11. The method of claim 9, whereinthe structure for interconnecting the plurality of pipeline stagescomprises: wherein the structure for interconnecting the plurality ofpipeline stages comprises a parallel interconnection of a first pipelinestage of the second-type and a second pipeline stage of the second-typein the stream processing pipeline.
 12. The method of claim 9, whereinthe structure for interconnecting the plurality of pipeline stagescomprises: an interconnection of a first terminal of a pipeline stage ofa fourth-type to a pipeline stage of the first-type, wherein thepipeline stage of the fourth-type is capable of buffering the collecteddata items before the processing of the collected data items.
 13. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the structure for interconnecting theplurality of pipeline stages comprises: an interconnection of a secondterminal of a pipeline stage of a fourth-type to a pipeline stage of thethird-type, wherein the pipeline stage of the fourth-type is capable ofbuffering the processed data items before the transmitting of theprocessed data items.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the pipelineconfiguration is generated based on analysis of data items specific tothe tenant system.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or morepipeline stages of the first-type comprise at least one of a firstreceiver stage and a second receiver stage, and wherein collecting thedata items comprises at least one of: collecting, at the first receiverstage, data items from a first data source using a first communicationprotocol; and collecting, at the second receiver stage, data items froma second data source using a second communication protocol, the secondcommunication protocol being different from the first communicationprotocol.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more pipelinestages of the second-type comprise at least one of a first processorstage and a second processor stage, and wherein processing the collecteddata items comprises at least one of: annotating, at the first processorstage, one or more of the data items collected from the one or more datasources; and categorizing, at the second processor stage, one or more ofthe data items collected from the one or more data sources.
 17. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: prior to transmitting theprocessed data items to the data service, buffering the processed dataitems at one or more pipeline stages of a fourth-type in the streamprocessing pipeline.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or morepipeline stages of the fourth-type comprise at least one of a firstbuffer stage and a second buffer stage, and wherein buffering theprocessed data items comprises at least one of: buffering, at the firstbuffer stage, one or more of the processed data items using anon-volatile storage buffer; and buffering, at the second buffer stage,one or more of the processed data items using a volatile storage buffer.19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one ormore programs configured to be executed by one or more processors of atenant system collecting data for ingesting to a distributed-computingsystem, the one or more programs including instructions for: at a datacollector of a tenant system collecting data for ingesting to adistributed-computing system: processing a configuration file receivedfrom a data service of the distributed-computing system, wherein theconfiguration file represents a pipeline configuration of the streamprocessing pipeline, and wherein the pipeline configuration includesrepresentations of a plurality of different types of pipeline stagesconfigured based on a respective customization of an entity; generatinga plurality of pipeline stages in accordance with the pipelineconfiguration of the stream processing pipeline; collecting, at one ormore pipeline stages of a first-type in the stream processing pipeline,data items from one or more data sources; processing the collected dataitems at one or more pipeline stages of a second-type in the streamprocessing pipeline; and processing to transmit, at one or more pipelinestages of a third-type in the stream processing pipeline, the processeddata items to the data service.
 20. The computer-readable storage mediumof claim 19, wherein the entity is associated with a first set ofproperties and a second set of properties, wherein the first set ofproperties are non-customizable to generate the different types ofpipeline stages and the second set of properties are customizable togenerate the different types of pipeline stages.
 21. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein therepresentations of the plurality of different types of pipeline stagescomprise: one or more representations of the one or more pipeline stagesof the first-type customized based on a first type-specificcustomization of the entity; one or more representations of one or morepipeline stages of the second-type customized based on a secondtype-specific customization of the entity; and one or morerepresentations of one or more pipeline stages of the third-typecustomized based on a third type-specific customization of the entity,wherein the second type-specific customization is different from thefirst and the third type-specific customizations.
 22. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein therepresentations of the plurality of different types of pipeline stagesfurther comprises: one or more representations of one or more pipelinestages of a fourth-type customized based on a fourth type-specificcustomization of the entity, wherein the one or more pipeline stages ofthe fourth-type are customized to buffer data items.
 23. A system forgenerating a stream processing pipeline, the system comprising: one ormore processors; and memory storing one or more programs configured tobe executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programsincluding instructions for: at a data collector collecting data foringesting to a distributed-computing system: processing a configurationfile received from a data service of the distributed-computing system,wherein the configuration file represents a pipeline configuration ofthe stream processing pipeline, and wherein the pipeline configurationincludes representations of a plurality of different types of pipelinestages configured based on a respective customization of an entity;generating a plurality of pipeline stages in accordance with thepipeline configuration of the stream processing pipeline; collecting, atone or more pipeline stages of a first-type in the stream processingpipeline, data items from one or more data sources; processing thecollected data items at one or more pipeline stages of a second-type inthe stream processing pipeline; and process to transmit, at one or morepipeline stages of a third-type in the stream processing pipeline, theprocessed data items to the data service.
 24. The system of claim 23,wherein the entity is associated with a first set of properties and asecond set of properties, wherein the first set of properties arenon-customizable to generate the different types of pipeline stages andthe second set of properties are customizable to generate the differenttypes of pipeline stages.
 25. The system of claim 23, wherein therepresentations of the plurality of different types of pipeline stagescomprise: one or more representations of the one or more pipeline stagesof the first-type customized based on a first type-specificcustomization of the entity; one or more representations of one or morepipeline stages of the second-type customized based on a secondtype-specific customization of the entity; and one or morerepresentations of one or more pipeline stages of the third-typecustomized based on a third type-specific customization of the entity,wherein the second type-specific customization is different from thefirst and the third type-specific customizations.
 26. The system ofclaim 25, wherein the representations of the plurality of differenttypes of pipeline stages further comprises: one or more representationsof one or more pipeline stages of a fourth-type customized based on afourth type-specific customization of the entity, wherein the one ormore pipeline stages of the fourth-type are customized to buffer dataitems.